Case :-cv-0-nvw Document Filed // Page of 0 Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation at the GOLDWATER INSTITUTE Clint Bolick (0) Aditya Dynar (0) 00 E. Coronado Rd. Phoenix, Arizona 00 (0) -000 litigation@goldwaterinstitute.org COOPER & KIRK, PLLC Michael W. Kirk (admitted pro hac vice) Brian W. Barnes (admitted pro hac vice) Harold S. Reeves (admitted pro hac vice) New Hampshire Ave., N.W. Washington, D.C. 0 () -00 () -0 (fax) Attorneys for Plaintiffs IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA A.D. and C. by CAROL COGHLAN CARTER, their next friend; S.H. and J.H., a married couple; M.C. and K.C., a married couple; for themselves and on behalf of a class of similarly-situated individuals, Plaintiffs, vs. KEVIN WASHBURN, in his official capacity as Assistant Secretary of BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS; SALLY JEWELL, in her official capacity as Secretary of Interior, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; GREGORY A. McKAY, in his official capacity as Director of ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF CHILD SAFETY, Defendants. No. CV---PHX-NVW PLAINTIFFS RESPONSE TO DEFENDANTS NOTICES OF SUPPLEMENTAL AUTHORITIES
Case :-cv-0-nvw Document Filed // Page of 0 Plaintiffs respectfully submit this response to the Notices of Supplemental Authority filed by the Federal and State Defendants regarding the Eastern District of Virginia s recent decision in National Council for Adoption Building Arizona Families v. Jewell, No. :-00-GBL-MSN (E.D. Va. Dec., ), ECF No. ( National Council MTD Order ). See Federal Defs. Notice of Suppl. Authorities (Dec. 0, ), Doc. 0; State Def. s Notice of Suppl. Authority in Supp. of Its Mot. to Abstain and Dismiss (Dec., ), Doc.. The plaintiffs principal claim in National Council was that the BIA s Guidelines violate the Administrative Procedure Act. The National Council court dismissed that claim, ruling that the plaintiffs could demonstrate neither standing nor final agency action on the theory that the Guidelines are not mandatory. National Council MTD Order at 0; see also Mem. Op. & Order, National Council for Adoption Building Arizona Families v. Jewell, No - (E.D. Va. Oct., ), ECF No.. But as Plaintiffs explained in their consolidated response to the motions to dismiss, legal consequences unquestionably flow from the Guidelines, the stated purpose of which is to clarify the minimum Federal standards... governing implementation of the Indian Child Welfare Act. 0 Fed. Reg. at 0,0 (emphasis added). Accordingly, the BIA s Guidelines constitute final agency action, and the National Council court s conclusion to the contrary cannot be sustained. Defendants also point to portions of the National Council court s opinion that address equal protection and due process challenges to the Guidelines. As an initial matter, the National Council court s discussion of these issues amounts to an advisory opinion. The parties in National Council stipulated to the voluntary dismissal of all plaintiffs who alleged equal protection or due process claims, thus depriving the court of jurisdiction over those claims before it issued its opinion. See Jones, Blechman, Woltz & Kelly, PC v. Babakaeva, F. App x, 0 (th Cir. 0) (explaining that the district court was divested of jurisdiction upon proper filing of notice of voluntary dismissal and that order subsequently issued in suit was therefore void). In any event, of
Case :-cv-0-nvw Document Filed // Page of 0 the National Council court s equal protection analysis is fatally flawed, for it makes no effort to reconcile its suggestion that ICWA s definition of Indian child is political rather than racial with the equal protection concerns that the Supreme Court said are implicated when vulnerable children are put at a great disadvantage solely because an ancestor even a remote one was an Indian. Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, S. Ct., (). And while it is difficult to follow the National Council court s explanation for why Roe v. Wade, 0 U.S., (), forecloses a due process challenge to the Guidelines brought by an adoptive child s birth parents, see National Council MTD Order at, the court s analysis is plainly inapplicable to the very different due process claims at issue here. The National Council court s cursory federalism analysis also misses the mark in numerous respects. See National Council MTD Order at. Whatever the scope of Congress powers under the Indian Commerce Clause, a child with nothing more than a biological connection to an Indian tribe is not an article of commerce subject to regulation under that constitutional provision. See Adoptive Couple, S. Ct. at (Thomas, J., concurring) (Indian Commerce Clause does not authorize Congress to regulate noneconomic activity such as adoption of children ). The federal government s preconstitutional powers to regulate Indian Tribes derive from its authority to implement military and foreign policy and plainly do not extend to offreservation Indian children. See United States v. Lara, U.S., (0). The National Council court s suggestion that the President s treaty power provides a basis for extensive federal involvement in domestic adoption proceedings rests on a legal principle called into serious doubt by the Supreme Court s decision in Lara, U.S. at, and that in any event has no application here given that neither ICWA nor the Guidelines were adopted pursuant to a valid treaty. And the National Council court s focus on application of the anti-commandeering principle to state court judges ignores the fact that ICWA and the Guidelines direct not only state judges but also other state officials to implement federal adoption policy for off-reservation Indian children. of
Case :-cv-0-nvw Document Filed // Page of 0 In short, the district court s decision in National Council is seriously flawed in numerous respects, opines on difficult constitutional questions that were not before the court, and much of its analysis is distinguishable. The opinion is not binding precedent, and this Court should not follow it. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED this th day of December, by: /s/ Aditya Dynar Clint Bolick (0) Aditya Dynar (0) Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation at the GOLDWATER INSTITUTE Michael W. Kirk (admitted pro hac vice) Brian W. Barnes (admitted pro hac vice) Harold S. Reeves (admitted pro hac vice) COOPER & KIRK, PLLC Attorneys for Plaintiffs of
Case :-cv-0-nvw Document Filed // Page of 0. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE Document Electronically Filed and Served by ECF this th day of December, MARK BRNOVICH ATTORNEY GENERAL John S. Johnson Dawn R. Williams Gary N. Lento West Washington Street Phoenix, Arizona 00 John.Johnson@azag.gov Dawn.Williams@azag.gov Gary.Lento@azag.gov Steven M. Miskinis Ragu-Jara Gregg U.S. Department of Justice ENRD/ Indian Resources Section P.O. Box Ben Franklin Station Washington, D.C. 0- Steven.Miskinis@usdoj.gov RGregg@ENRD.usdoj.gov Courtesy Copy Mailed this th day of December, to: Honorable Neil V. Wake United States District Court Sandra Day O Connor U.S. Courthouse, Ste. 0 W. Washington St., SPC Phoenix, AZ 00- /s/ Kris Schlott Kris Schlott of